iPad Mini to be announced soon? Apple sends out invites for ‘Special Event’ on Oct 23rd

Apple has announced via press invites that a special event will be held on Oct 23rd in San Jose, with the tagline “We’ve got a little more to show you”. The ‘little’ presumably alludes to the long speculatedÂ iPad Mini, a more portable iPad that has been rumoured to have a 7.85″ (non-retina) display, a thinner body, a rear facing camera and the new lightning port. With a host of other 7″ tablets flooding the market – most notably the Nexus 7 – it is expected that the iPad Mini’s price point will be an attractive one, possibly in the $249-299 range for a 16GB model. Here are several mockups of what it could look like next to an iPad 2/3.

It is also possible that Apple will use next week’s event to introduce a refreshed line of the iMac (which has had itsÂ aluminum unibody design since late 2009), MacBook Pro (a 13 inch MBP with Retina display?) and Mac mini. Regardless, there’s no doubt that the spotlight will be on the iPad Mini, an Apple tablet that is likely to be a hit with consumers due to its lower cost and increased portability.